Bariatric Babies

While at the doctor's office today for my unfill, I mentioned concern about having gotten pregnant so soon after having had my lap band surgery (less than five months out). The general recommendation is to wait one to two years after surgery before trying to conceive because nutritional deficiencies can result from the rapid weight loss.

The doctor's response was surprising to me. He shared that studies have shown better outcomes for babies born to mothers who have undergone bariatric surgery than for those who have not. Babies born after the mother's weight loss surgery have reduced risk of obesity and related metabolic disorders.

This statement made sense to me as people who have undergone weight loss surgery are probably a lot more aware and careful about their eating and exercise and pass these habits along to their kids. He agreed that this might be part of it, but he also pointed out that outcomes of kids born after surgery were much better than those of their siblings born before surgery - which eliminates the behavioral explanation, at least in part.

According to Dr. Picard Marceau of Laval University in Quebec, "When comparing children the women had before surgery with those they had after surgery, doctors noted significant differences. For example, children born after the mother had bariatric surgery accumulated belly fat at a much slower rate.

And while just 17 percent of the children born after their moms had weight loss surgery were obese, a whopping 49% of the children born before their moms had weight loss surgery were obese."

Wild stuff. Who knew?